Lauren has a high instep in her feet.

This means that shoe shopping is difficult.

This means that she can not wear the cute little girly shoes.

Yesterday, I went shoe shopping with Lauren to find something she could wear to church. (Right now, she has a pair of pink Kroc's and a pair of tennis shoes, and that is all.)

We braved the HUGE back-to-school crowd at North Star in San Antonio, and bought these:.

Cute, right? Well, I should've said no and walked out. The guy was overly friendly and I couldn't say no. Her foot fit, but it took 5 minutes to tug on. Anyone with a toddler knows that if it takes 5 minutes to put a shoe on, the chances of it fitting in a week or two are slim.

So, what did I do today? I drove with Aunt Banana back to the mall, braved yet an even BIGGER crowd, and returned the shoes. The same guy returned them for me. He was in a different mood today. He didn't even look up from the register to the 'packed to its limit' store.

As I was leaving the shoe store, I smiled. I was victorious over the power of shoes! I went in thinking I was going to be guilted in to either keeping them or buying another pair. (Which, if I didn't find 2 pairs at the Gap yesterday that slipped on her feet so easy, I might've been persuaded.) So, to you, shoe guy.. I applaud you for putting up with me. I applaud you for being overly kind yesterday and making me purchase the incredibly cute Pumas. I applaud you for allowing me to return them without any guilt or looks. Thank you, shoe guy, thank you.

---the guilt-buyer---

PS. My husband also thanks you. He did not think I would return them. I assured him I would.

I won that bet.